Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth celebrated the 250th birthday of the United States Army on Saturday, telling his former colleagues at “Fox & Friends: Weekend” that without the creation of a cohesive fighting force in 1775, the events that followed in 1776 would not have been possible.
Hegseth raised the point in defense of President Donald Trump’s plan to host a parade in Washington, D.C., celebrating Flag Day and the Army’s 250th birthday.
WATCH:
. @SecDef “There is no 1776 without 1775.” ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/i4aqTjdvYF
— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 14, 2025
“It’s because of strong men and women who stand up and are willing to fight for it,” Hegseth began. “There is no 1776 without 1775, and that’s why the president is right to celebrate it today. The haters can hate, let ’em. We don’t care. This is celebrating 25o years of freedom and strength.”
“Do you know why I joined the military in large part?” Hegseth asked then. “Because of a parade that went down Main Street of Wanamingo, Minnesota — in southern Minnesota — that, as a young kid, my parents used to take me to and I would see the dozen vets walking down the street. And I’d look up and say, ‘Man, look at what they did. Maybe someday I could do that.'”
“You know, imagine the effect of the American people seeing the hardware and the men and women, and the parades of who we are and how we defend freedom — we believe that will motivate. We believe that supports recruitment. That supports morale. That supports the general sense and the feeling that President Trump talks about all the time that America’s back! And we’re here to stay. And our allies know that and our enemies are on notice.”
The U.S. Army also posted a video celebrating the milestone, saying that the service branch’s mission — even 250 years later — was still the same, and could be boiled down to just three words: “This we’ll defend.”
After 250 years, it still comes down to three words.
THIS. WE’LL. DEFEND.
#Army250 pic.twitter.com/4V3faxVa96— U.S. Army (@USArmy) June 14, 2025